Laboratory research over the past decade indicates the potential to manage glaucoma not only by lowering eye pressure, but with treatment modalities aimed at the damage occurring at the optic nerve. Possible therapies may include agents effective as neuronal protectants to increase or prolong the survival rate of injured retinal ganglion cells. Treatments could also be directed to the rescue of nerve fibers from secondary degeneration, as stimulants to expand dendritic fields, and to promote nerve regeneration or neural transplantation.